adventures in divine discontentedness

that's right, the title is not a mistake. we're all looking for that one thing that can make a us content. the beauty of God's design for discontentment is that is draws the seeker to Him. sure, we sometimes step away, or our eyes catch something pretty or flashy.

while other people tout God as being the answer to our divine discontedness, i believe it goes beyond that. i am restless and discontent, yet i "worship" God. now why on earth did i just put worship in quotes? because i am about to re-define worship. worship is both a noun and a verb. it is our fault that worship is considered a noun (person, place, thing or idea). we define our meetings by calling them "worship" services. there are two types of verbs (uh-oh! a grammar lesson!) there are action verbs (think about things that you can do all around a room- run, jump, laugh...) and then there are being verbs (think exist).

can you worship around the room? of course. does worship define our services? not as much as it should.

i truly think emerson was inspired by God when he penned the words, i see young men, my townsmen, whose misfortune it is to have inherited farms, houses, cattle, and farming tools; for these are more easily acquired then got rid of. better if they had been born in a field and suckled by a wolf, that they might have seen with clearer eyes what field they were called to labor in.

while emerson was referring to men who were working in fields while having the dreams and, in some cases, the skills to be working a different job; his statement translates so easily into the spiritual world.

while other christian leaders have written books about divine discontentment in reference to God being the only One who can make us content, my intent is to show that unless we become the christians we are supposed to be, we will still be discontent.

the beauty of discontent is that it pushes us to find contentedness. it doesn't allow us to settle. it drives us onward in our journey.

i see my friends, my collegues, my fellow christians, whose misfortune it is to have inherited hopelessness, taken jobs and careers, and purchased toys that break; for these are more easily got than got rid of. better they had begun humble in the beginning, that they might have seen with clearer eyes what field they were called to labor in.

deitrich bonhoeffer penned the words: time lost is time when we have not lived a full human life, time unenriched by experience, creative endeavor, enjoyment and suffering.

[for the world-wide renown of His sovereign glory...]